


you don't need to run

by Spannah339



Series: Sun and Moon AU [19]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Bonding, Gen, Sword Fighting, cass and eugene's relationship is good fun, sun and moon au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25755751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spannah339/pseuds/Spannah339
Summary: She wasn’t bad - Eugene could admit to that. He had seen her in the brawl at the Duckling - she was confident, quick, eager with the blade in her hand. But she was inexperienced and very likely mostly self-taught.With another stretch, he stood, snagging the frying pan from where it was lying near the fire and made his way to where Cassandra was practising. He stood to one side, watching her for a moment longer.
Relationships: Cassandra & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider (Disney), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Series: Sun and Moon AU [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823434
Comments: 10
Kudos: 91





	you don't need to run

**Author's Note:**

> quiet moment before everything goes down :) Takes places sometime in the middle of Zeeb's last fic.

Rapunzel was sleeping, curled in a nest of her own hair. Eugene spared a moment to watch her, trying not to feel jealous of the portable blanket she carried with her. Her face was relaxed, her breathing even, Pascal curled up against her face, half an eye watching him, Ruddiger - who had taken an instant liking to her - curled up under her hair nearby. She looked peaceful. Beautiful. 

Pulling his attention away from her, Eugene stretched, fighting down the urge to sleep himself. He may be tired, but he was too tense, too worried to actually sleep at the moment. Varian was still out there, and every moment he was alone was a moment Eugene felt he lost himself a little more. 

He turned his attention to where Cassandra was practising with the sword she had managed to leave the Snuggly Duckling with. Eugene watched her for a moment, taking in her uncertain stance and awkward footwork. 

She lunged forward, ducking low and spinning in a move that was far more complex than he expected her to be able to pull off. Sure enough, as she finished she stumbled a few paces, almost tripping over her feet. 

She wasn’t bad - Eugene could admit to that. He had seen her in the brawl at the Duckling - she was confident, quick, eager with the blade in her hand. But she was inexperienced and very likely mostly self-taught. 

With another stretch, he stood, snagging the frying pan from where it was lying near the fire and made his way to where Cassandra was practising. He stood to one side, watching her for a moment longer. 

“You’re leaving yourself exposed,” he said finally. She started, looking up at him and narrowing her eyes. “Don’t lower your sword so much.” 

He moved to her side, spinning the frying pan to check its weight and dropping into a fighting stance, weapon up, leg forward. Cassandra frowned, pausing for a moment before mirroring his stance. 

“Other leg forward,” he said, tapping the leg with the frying pan. Her frown deepened, but she shifted her weight and held the sword up. Eugene nodded approvingly, again noting that she had a natural ease to her. 

He moved to face her, again testing the weight of the frying pan - it was surprisingly satisfying to weald - and slipped easily into a ready stance. A light appeared in Cassandra’s eyes, a grin slowly covering her face. 

“You sure you want to do this, Rider?” she asked, smirking. Eugene grinned back. 

“Are you?” he asked, and lunged forward. 

They danced back and forth for a while, Eugene occasionally pausing to give Cassandra a few pointers. He hadn’t properly sparred for a long time, the occasional crossing of sticks with Varian aside. It felt good to be moving again, to be engaged in combat with a worthy opponent (not that Varian wasn’t good, his skills just lay... elsewhere). 

He blocked her sword on the pan, spinning and twisting so it flew out of Cassandra’s hand. She scowled, but instead of backing down as he expected, darted forward, grabbing his arm and twisting it around his back. 

He let out a small yelp of surprise, freezing momentarily. She released him, grinning and he stepped back, rolling his shoulder. 

“Nice,” he said. “But don’t let down your guard.” He moved forward, hooking his leg around her knee and knocking her off balance. She hit the ground with a thud, winching and Eugene stepped back. 

“Ouch,” she muttered glaring up at him. Eugene grinned, tucking the frying pan under his arm and holding out a hand. She ignored it, scrambling to her feet and moving to retrieve her sword. “Where did you learn how to do that?” 

Memories came back to him - Quirin’s quiet suggestions as he struggled to perfect a move, Hector’s wild grin as they sparred together, his father’s approving nod as he finally bested his trainer. As prince, he was expected to know how to defend himself. As a future member of the Brotherhood, he was expected to be good. 

As an older brother, he had failed at both. 

He shook away the thoughts, shrugging. 

“You pick things up when you travel,” he said dismissively. Now that he wasn’t moving, wasn’t focusing on the metal in his hand and the thrill of sparring, the memories and worry were coming back in force. “Don’t forget to look after your sword.” 

He moved back to the fire, sparing a glance at the still sleeping Rapunzel, which turned into slightly more than a glance as he settled down onto a nearby tree root. Pascal glared at him from where he was peering out of the strands of her hair. 

Cassandra frowned, running her eyes along the sword and winching slightly at the new dents. With a slight grin, remembering the many hours he had spent tending his sword after training, Eugene snagged his bag and dug through it to find a whetstone, tossing it towards her. 

She settled onto the root nearby and leaned against the trunk, beginning to run the whetstone along the edge of the sword, still watching him. 

“I can take first watch,” Eugene said, watching her for a moment. She turned to look at him, her eyes telling him there was no way she was going to let him do that - telling him that _he_ was the one she was watching. 

“Oh come on!” he tried, spreading his arms out, keeping his voice quieter than he usually would have so as not to wake Rapunzel. “Surely you trust me by now.” 

“I’ve barely known you a day, Rider. A day and a few fights isn’t enough for me to trust you,” she said, her voice tight. Closed off. It had been all day - Eugene was beginning to realize that was just how she was. 

(He’d seen her with Rapunzel though - the way they had run when they first left the tower. The way they had laughed and splashed each other with water and enjoyed the wonders of the world together. They way they had fought side by side, communicating without speaking, without looking. The way her face had lit up as she fought, sword in hand. He knew she wasn’t as cold as she tried to come across.) 

“Touche,” he said, acknowledging her point. They were silent for a long moment, but Eugene wasn’t in the mood for silence. (Too much room for thinking. For wondering. For worrying. Varian had been alone for four days now.) “So what’s your deal?” 

“Huh?” Cassandra asked, looking up. Eugene shrugged. 

“What’s your deal? I get Rapunzel - magic hair, overbearing mother, never left the tower yadda yadda. But you? Why are you sticking around? You’ve left before, right?” 

She didn’t answer, digging the sword into the ground and pulling her leg closer to rest her chin on her knee. She was looking at Rapunzel, and with a start, Eugene recognised that expression. The fondness, the need to protect, the need to look after and make someone else happy. 

(Where are you, Varian?) 

“I’ve got nowhere to go,” she said finally. “And I don’t know if I want to.” 

Eugene nodded, letting the silence last a little longer this time. 

“You don’t know if she’ll be alright if you do leave,” he said quietly. Cassandra looked up at him and for the first time, Eugene saw past her mask, her tough-guy act. Only for a second, but it was enough. 

“Nah, she’ll be fine without me,” she said, waving a hand in a dismissive gesture that Eugene knew was fake. He knew, because he didn’t know if Varian would be fine without him. 

(Four days. Four days and every hour is another hour he’s _alone_. He’s lost and he’s scared and he’s just a kid.)

“But who will you be without her,” he said quietly. 

(Flynn Rider, thief and criminal and legend? Crown Prince Horace, heir to a legacy that went back generations? Eugene Fitzherbert, how can one be a brother without a brother?)

(No. Varian was out there, somewhere, and Eugene would find him.) 

Cassandra gave a short laugh, shaking her head slightly. 

“Maybe that’s part of it. Maybe I don’t want to let down Mother. Maybe… I don’t know.” She sighed, staring back towards the fire. “Why am I even telling you this?” she asked, looking up with narrowed eyes. “I hardly know you.” 

“To be fair, you hardly know anyone,” Eugene pointed out. Cassandra rolled her eyes, uncurling enough to lean against the tree again. “I understand though. My brother is out there, somewhere.” 

“Yeah,” Cassandra said. “I’m sure you’ll find him again.”

Eugene didn’t answer, looking into the darkness beyond the fire. Varian was out there, and he was going to find him. 

Cassandra stifled a yawn and Eugene glanced back at her, slight amusement in his face. 

“You should get some rest - I’ll take first watch.” She didn’t respond, shooting him a slight glare and he gave a dramatic sigh. “I promise I won’t slit your throats or steal Rapunzel’s hair away in the night. Besides,” he added. “I don’t think the frog is going to let me out of his sights.” He glanced back towards Rapunzel, where Pascal had relocated to her head, curled up, watching him with a half-open eye. 

Cassandra gave a smirk and finally gave in to the yawn. 

“Alright,” she said quietly. “But if you try anything-” 

“Frankly I’m too scared of you to even consider it.” 

She rolled her eyes, a slight grin to them, and stood, stretching and moving to Rapunzel’s side. She didn’t hesitate in curling up next to her sister, using Rapunzel’s hair as a blanket for herself. For a moment, Eugene felt a tightness in his chest, a longing for his own young sibling to curl up beside, to sleep comfortable and safe next to. 

Ruddiger, woken by Cassandra’s arrival, bounded to Eugene’s side, crawling up to curl around his neck. Eugene shifted to lean against the tree, one boot resting on the root and buried his hand in Ruddiger’s fur. The raccoon trilled softly and Eugene sighed. 

“We’ll find him, buddy,” he said quietly. “He’ll be okay.” 

He wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince himself or the raccoon. 

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to Aki_2 who pointed out the fantastic opportunity of Cass and Eugene training together and as a result, made me rush back to add a whole lot to this fic! 
> 
> ALSO! As Zeeb mentioned in at last, i see the light, we're considering doing a q&a thingy. We're nearing the end of the first 'season'/arc, and thought it would be fun to finish it off by answering some questions from y'all! So let us know if you're interested in doing that, could be questions about anything - what characters we have or haven't met yet are doing, behind the scenes stuff, short story snippets we haven't been able to post etc. anything! This is kinda a testing of the waters to see if people are interested, we'll let you know if we decide to go ahead with it!


End file.
